Indiana University alumni choose Jill Maurer Burnett to serve on Board of Trustees

Indiana University alumni selected Jill Maurer Burnett of Carmel to serve on the Board of Trustees, ousting current trustee Jeremy Morris. She received 3,830 votes, 19% of the total vote count in a crowded field of 12 candidates.

“I extend my warmest congratulations to Jill Maurer Burnett on her election to the Board of Trustees,” IU President Pamela Whitten said in a press release Friday. “Jill will play a pivotal role in propelling Indiana University forward by fortifying our commitment to student success, fostering groundbreaking innovation and discovery, and enhancing IU’s contribution to the vitality of our state and the global community.”

Burnett graduated from IU in 1997 with a degree in business. She is the daughter of Michael Maurer, the namesake of the Maurer School of Law, and most recently served as president of the Maurer Family Foundation and Women for Riley. She’s run Mickey’s Camp, a nonprofit organization that hosts a camp for adults, for the past 20 years and is a board member for the Indiana-based group Discovering Broadway, the Indianapolis Zoo and the Hooverwood Living nursing home. 

"I’m thrilled to be elected as a trustee for my beloved alma mater, which has played a pivotal role not just in my life but much of my family’s,” Burnett said in the press release. “I’m looking forward to working with fellow trustees to ensure Indiana University continues to help students grow, learn and better our world.”

During her campaign, Burnett did not respond to questions from the Indiana Daily Student about controversies on IU’s campus, including the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition strike, the Dunn Meadow encampment and calls for Whitten and Provost Rahul Shrivastav to resign. The IGWC unanimously endorsed another candidate, John McGlothlin III, earlier this month, according to the IDS.

In a statement to The Herald-Times in May, Maurer Burnett said students should be heard by the IU administration but must also follow the rules.

“Student and faculty protestors must follow the rules and regulations of IU in addition to the laws of our city and state and if they fail to do so, they should expect the prescribed adverse consequences and ramifications,” she wrote. 

With a total of 20,098 votes, this trustee election had relatively high turnout compared to previous years. In 2018, Trustee Donna Spears was elected after receiving 4,151 of 13,710 votes. Trustee Vivian Winston received 8,196 out of 16,302 votes when she was elected in 2022. A little over 20,000 voters weighed in during Morris’ election in 2021, where he received 7,460 votes. 

In a statement, Board of Trustees president Quinn Buckner thanked outgoing trustee Morris.

“I want to thank Trustee Morris, whose experience and commitment to service have made him an incredible asset to the Board of Trustees and Indiana University,” Buckner said in the press release. “I extend my congratulations to Jill Maurer Burnett and look forward to working together to advance the mission of our extraordinary university.”

Burnett’s term begins July 1.

Reach Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com.